Highlighting impact of environment in shaping future health

Public forum will
highlight impact of environment in shaping future health.

The importance of early life events in shaping future
health and wellbeing was recognised in the Report of the
Parliamentary Health Committee on the “Inquiry into
improving child health outcomes and preventing child abuse,
with a focus on preconception until three years of age”
released last week.

The report cited research evidence
from the Liggins Institute, amongst others, as supporting
the focus on this critical period of development.

One
example of this type of evidence comes from new research by
Liggins Institute researchers, published just last week in
the science journal PLOS ONE, which showed that adults,
particularly men, who were born preterm are fatter than
those born at term.

The research study found that men in
their mid-thirties who were born before 37 weeks’
gestation were on average 20 kg heavier than a matched group
born at full term. The preterm group also had significantly
increased BMIs, a higher proportion of abdominal fat and
less favourable lipid profiles.

In turn, children born at
term to parents (both male and female) who were born preterm
tended to have more body fat, with a greater distribution of
abdominal fat, compared with the children whose parents were
born at term.

The long-term legacy of the early life
environment forms the basis for discussion at a public forum
hosted by the Liggins Institute on Friday 29 November.
“Womb to wellness – a conversation with our community”
provides an opportunity for the Auckland public to join in
discussion with leading researchers at the Liggins Institute
and hear comments from community leaders on how research
evidence is being translated into new care practices and
communication strategies to improve the health of current
and future generations.

The forum follows the opening of the Liggins Institute on
the University of Auckland’s Redeveloped Grafton Campus by
Hon. Steven Joyce, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills
and Employment and Minister of Science and Innovation.

Details:

Friday 29 NovemberUniversity Grafton
Campus, 85 Park Road

9.45am Opening of the Liggins
Institute on the Redeveloped Grafton Campus

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